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Hello from So Cal

Popeye Cahn

Out on the slopes
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Aug 14, 2019
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Under the Top Gun skies
Hola! Found this site while doing some research and thought I’d join on for the ride and learn a thing or two (hundred)... Quick intro, I live in San Diego but grew up in Mpls. Skied during my youth and then when we moved to SD I didn’t see snow unless I visited the Twin Cities (once).

Life takes its courses and after many turns I found that had a small family. I figured I’d take up the sport again after a 42 year hiatus, so we went to Big Bear this past spring and had a great time. After a short lesson to re-introduce myself to having a couple of slippery boards underneath my feet, it all began to come back quickly and the smile never left my face the whole day!

And so begins my odyssey! This year I plan on spending more time on the slopes (likely between BB and Mountain High) with my youngest who loved learning this year. Not sure if my wife and oldest will take to the slopes this next trip or not but there’s always tubing ;-)

Will be working on shoring up the basics, improving technique and having fun (that's the easy part!).
 

Larry

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Feb 15, 2017
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I live north of you in Riverside. I usually go to Snow Summit(SS) or Bear 5-10 days a year I'm an icon member so those resorts are free for me. Be careful on weekends there, it can get crowded
 
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Popeye Cahn

Popeye Cahn

Out on the slopes
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Aug 14, 2019
Posts
417
Location
Under the Top Gun skies
Thanks for the head's up ;-) Given my schedule and such likely that'll be my only option for the first part of the season and after the NY I can head up on weekdays. I may spring for a season pass there or at MH, a neighbor (also a Minnesnowtan) skis there with his family and likes the casual atmosphere of MH. I think the drive is a little less as well for us then BB/SS.
 

surfsnowgirl

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Magic Mountain, Vermont
Thanks for the head's up ;-) Given my schedule and such likely that'll be my only option for the first part of the season and after the NY I can head up on weekdays. I may spring for a season pass there or at MH, a neighbor (also a Minnesnowtan) skis there with his family and likes the casual atmosphere of MH. I think the drive is a little less as well for us then BB/SS.

Welcome.

I lived in socal for 15 years. Divided my time between mountain high and big bear with monthly trips to mammoth.

Big bear gets crazy on weekends. I preferred snow summit over bear mountain. I hear Snow valley when open can be fun too. MH is worse as far as crowds IMO but stick to the east resort if you can because it's less crowded and I found it more enjoyable.
 

Pat AKA mustski

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Welcome! We live in Big Bear so give a shout if you head up and Bob and I will meet up with you for some turns. If you do come to Snow Summit on a weekend, plan on getting here really early for parking. Also - the crowds are much less in the morning because most SoCal skiers don't show up until about noonish. Also hit me up if you ever need a buddy discount. Bob and I never use most of ours so we're happy to help. If you buy a MH season pass, consider grabbing the Snowjam membership card also. It gets you discounted lift tickets at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain and FREE and 1/2 price tickets at Snow Valley. Snow Valley is a small mom and pop operation, but it's great for teaching little ones to ski because it's never crowded and has a ton of easy parking. It also had a great sledding hill, with a chairlift , which could be a great option for your wife and older one if they don't want to ski. On a sunny day, the deck is a great place to sit and have a drink and watch the kids play on the sledding hill.

Go here to find out more about the Snowjam card if you are interested. https://www.snowjamcard.com

Also Snowjam hosts a ski show and swap at the Del Mar fairgrounds in November. It's a great option for picking up ski clothes and gear at discounted prices. I think you get the Snowjam card as part of the entrance fee.

https://www.snowjamshow.com/sandiego
 
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Popeye Cahn

Popeye Cahn

Out on the slopes
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Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Posts
417
Location
Under the Top Gun skies
Welcome.

I lived in socal for 15 years. Divided my time between mountain high and big bear with monthly trips to mammoth.

Big bear gets crazy on weekends. I preferred snow summit over bear mountain. I hear Snow valley when open can be fun too. MH is worse as far as crowds IMO but stick to the east resort if you can because it's less crowded and I found it more enjoyable.

Thanks for the tips! Since I didn't get to ski SS this past spring, I want to try those slopes when I can (for sure in Jan). I've enjoyed Mammoth in the summer (just got back a week and a half ago) and can't wait to try it in the winter ;-)
 
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Popeye Cahn

Popeye Cahn

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Posts
417
Location
Under the Top Gun skies
Welcome! We live in Big Bear so give a shout if you head up and Bob and I will meet up with you for some turns. If you do come to Snow Summit on a weekend, plan on getting here really early for parking. Also - the crowds are much less in the morning because most SoCal skiers don't show up until about noonish. Also hit me up if you ever need a buddy discount. Bob and I never use most of ours so we're happy to help. If you buy a MH season pass, consider grabbing the Snowjam membership card also. It gets you discounted lift tickets at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain and FREE and 1/2 price tickets at Snow Valley. Snow Valley is a small mom and pop operation, but it's great for teaching little ones to ski because it's never crowded and has a ton of easy parking. It also had a great sledding hill, with a chairlift , which could be a great option for your wife and older one if they don't want to ski. On a sunny day, the deck is a great place to sit and have a drink and watch the kids play on the sledding hill.

Go here to find out more about the Snowjam card if you are interested. https://www.snowjamcard.com

Also Snowjam hosts a ski show and swap at the Del Mar fairgrounds in November. It's a great option for picking up ski clothes and gear at discounted prices. I think you get the Snowjam card as part of the entrance fee.

https://www.snowjamshow.com/sandiego

Thanks for the tips and the offer Pat! I may take you up on that ;-) I'm seeing that Snowjam also have a Baldy special going on as well, that would be another place to try out (on a weekday I'm thinking lol).

Great tips folks, keep 'em coming!
 

Pat AKA mustski

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Thanks for the tips! Since I didn't get to ski SS this past spring, I want to try those slopes when I can (for sure in Jan). I've enjoyed Mammoth in the summer (just got back a week and a half ago) and can't wait to try it in the winter ;-)

June Mt. is a lot of fun too and kids under 12 ski free!

Thanks for the tips and the offer Pat! I may take you up on that ;-) I'm seeing that Snowjam also have a Baldy special going on as well, that would be another place to try out (on a weekday I'm thinking lol).

Great tips folks, keep 'em coming!

Baldy is fantastic but it does take a lot of snow to get it open. They don't have any snow making.
 

Larry

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Yes, Baldy is rarely open so it's hard to coordinate ski days up there. For me, locally here, SS is my favorite. Snow is usually pretty good (for local) with a wide assortment of runs
 

river-z

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Apr 24, 2017
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Riverside, CA
As Pat mentioned June Mountain is a great option for families. I go there a couple times a year and much prefer it to Mammoth when I'm with my kids. Not only is it free for them, but it's a lot less busy, making it safer for kids. The employees there are great with kids too. Highly recommend it for families.
 

Eleeski

Making fresh tracks
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Nov 13, 2015
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San Diego / skis at Squaw Valley
Reno is surprising easy from San Diego. Lots of flights at (sometimes) reasonable prices. Tahoe is fantastic skiing! A different feel from the park/snowboarder feel of socal mountains (including Mammoth). Most of our skiing is at Squaw from our San Diego base.

We get a couple days in in socal. Mountain High is the closest good skiing to San Diego, Baldy is fun with an old school vibe when it's open and Big Bear is the LA and San Diego weekend destination.

Of course, winter skiing is awesome in Mission Bay. Waterskiing that is!

Eric
 

Drahtguy Kevin

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Welcome to Pugski! I cut my teeth on the mean slopes of the Twin Cities as well. A trip to Duluth or the UP as a kid seemed like the big time. I was mostly a Buck Hill/Afton kid. Where’d you start out?
 
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Popeye Cahn

Popeye Cahn

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Posts
417
Location
Under the Top Gun skies
Yes, Baldy is rarely open so it's hard to coordinate ski days up there. For me, locally here, SS is my favorite. Snow is usually pretty good (for local) with a wide assortment of runs
Yeah SS is definitely on the list since I missed a chance this spring, it looked like it has a good assortment of stuff to ski. BB was friendly and inviting but a bit limited.


June Mt. is a lot of fun too and kids under 12 ski free!

Baldy is fantastic but it does take a lot of snow to get it open. They don't have any snow making.

Thanks for the tip, I love the June Lake area, only ever been during summer months. Definitely sounds like a trip worth making! I wasn't aware of that Baldy didn't have snow making, only knew that the ride up to the lift on a bike was one heckuva workout lol

As Pat mentioned June Mountain is a great option for families. I go there a couple times a year and much prefer it to Mammoth when I'm with my kids. Not only is it free for them, but it's a lot less busy, making it safer for kids. The employees there are great with kids too. Highly recommend it for families.
Good to know, thanks!

Reno is surprising easy from San Diego. Lots of flights at (sometimes) reasonable prices. Tahoe is fantastic skiing! A different feel from the park/snowboarder feel of socal mountains (including Mammoth). Most of our skiing is at Squaw from our San Diego base.

We get a couple days in in socal. Mountain High is the closest good skiing to San Diego, Baldy is fun with an old school vibe when it's open and Big Bear is the LA and San Diego weekend destination.

Of course, winter skiing is awesome in Mission Bay. Waterskiing that is!

Eric

Hahaha, yeah H2O ski is not on the list of things to do lol Now Tahoe would be, it might be a next season before I can make it up though. Make sure to save me some fresh pow when I do ;-) Thanks for the insights!

Welcome to Pugski! I cut my teeth on the mean slopes of the Twin Cities as well. A trip to Duluth or the UP as a kid seemed like the big time. I was mostly a Buck Hill/Afton kid. Where’d you start out?

Hi Kevin, I spent many a day at Afton, Hyland, Theodore Wirth (I seemed to recall they may have had alpine there in the 70's, but I know I did some cross country there and had hot coco in the chalet :) I'm not 100% if I ever went to Buck Hill, but I bet I did. My last run ever was at Hyland Hills in the late winter early spring of '77, it was night and I was coming hot off a run and tried to come to a good and proper stop but hit a nice patch of ice and went down and cartwheeled for what seemed like an eternity. I had a hell of a laugh at that since nothing was broken. We went up to Telemark once and that was the big time for sure... Good times!

Hi @Popeye Cahn ! I'm well north of you, in Los Angeles, just wanted to say welcome!

Thanks! I lived in Culver City and North Hollywood in the 80's interesting places then ;-)

Thanks again for all the info folks. I talked with my neighbor and he does instruction with a kids ski school at Mountain High, he suggested I volunteer or instruct which would get me on the slopes for at least 6 days this season. I told him I wasn't instructor material at this point but I can help with corralling the kids. I also primed him for hitting the slopes prior to that so hopefully I can keep a smile on my face for a dozen or more days :beercheer:
 

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